Except When It Isn't
by littlesolo
Summary: The days are same old, same old... except when it isn't. Gail/Holly fic (Sam and Chloe are now fine) M rating for gore/graphic descriptions
1. Chapter 1

**AN: There are many exams happening now and next week. The way my friends and I study is with movies or shows running in the background (from Avengers to Hannibal, to Orphan Black, to Alphas...etc) because silence freaks us out. So this is a result of a plot bunny gnawing at my head and not letting go. You will see crossovers. This is being written mainly so I can focus on my Economics and History papers without my brain going KABOOM. If it is enjoyed bonus points! So here goes...**

* * *

If you asked Oliver, it had all started at the end of the forensics conference taking place. On the plus side, Holly had reconnected with a college friend named Beverly Katz, but on the downside she was gone most of the week. At least that was the downside according to Gail. Actually, Gail was surprised to find that she liked Beverly. The FBI agent seemed to run on the same wavelength that she did and that made having pizza and beers to unwind actually enjoyable instead of stilted and awkward. Holly was letting Beverly use her guest room instead of staying in a hotel, which meant Gail went back to her place at night where her bed would have felt too empty to be comfortable if she hadn't been too tired to care.

Oliver would later say that having all the forensic experts in one place was begging for trouble. Whether he was right or if voicing his suspicion had jinxed it was still unclear, the first body was found at a construction site the last day of the conference.  
Holly had been attending a lecture when the body had been found but was now examining it for evidence in the morgue. Officer Collins was there as well, giving her a run down of what had been at the scene and of the witness statements in case it helped her analysis any. The body was male with dirty brown hair but other than that, it was hard to tell much else. His eyes had been pushed back into his skull and a large pipe had been forcefully shoved into his mouth and impaling him to the ground. The pipe had been transported with the body and when Holly removed it she found that there was no way dental records would be of any use when it came to identifying the body.  
_Monkeys_, thought Holly to herself. Or at least, she thought she had.  
"What?" asked a voice from the doorway. Holly looked up to find more people than she remembered in her lab. Staring back at her was Sam, Steve, Chloe, and Nick.  
"Um, just muttering, but the first thing that came to mind was those three monkeys. You know, hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil? This guy is two out of three".  
"Oh! I love those monkeys! They're so cute! I guess this guy is a messenger monkey. His prints came back to a homeless guy. I guess just wrong place wring time" added Chloe. Holly gave them a smile and promised to keep them updated as the group left with Steve shooting her a friendly smile. Beverly came in dropping off Holly's notes as well as some additional ones from the presentation she missed.  
"Thanks for bringing my stuff back for me" called Holly from over the body.  
"No problem. Someone was certainly making a statement there" commented Beverly as she motioned towards the body with her chin.  
"Yeah. Any chance this is more of your of your area of expertise?"  
"Nope. Not nearly violent enough. Also, it's not a pattern killer, or at least it doesn't appear to be and let's hope it stays that way". Holly grimaced.  
"You're always welcome to visit me here, but I don't think I'll be visiting your workplace anytime soon".

* * *

Across town, Gail and Oliver were following a tip from an eye witness. In exchange for a hot breakfast burrito, another homeless person gave them the partial license plate of a truck seen leaving the scene early that morning. That had led them to a black utility pickup truck which was spotted by Chis and Nick down around the college district. Gail and Oliver had sped over to assist but the problem with the college area was that it packed in a lot of cheap housing which created a lot of side streets and alleys, and a lot of students rode bikes. Which got them to where they are now. The truck had last been seen along this small grouping of streets and they were checking them all in a grid pattern.  
"Oliver, right there. That soccer mom van. It looks like it was side swiped by our truck". Oliver pulled off and called it in while Gail got out and took in the dead end alley. Minutes later, Callaghan was there along with Nick and Chris. The tire tracks indicated that someone had stopped for a moment to quickly unload something before taking off again but upon opening the van, they found nothing inside. So now there was nothing to do but wait for the forensics team to show up. Or at least that had been the plan until Oliver and Gail started hearing a banging sound from inside the van. Gail was about to open the floor compartment when Luke motioned her back. Gail rolled her eyes but let Luke take the lead. With Chris and Nick covering him through the van's other open doors, Luke leaned over and opened the latch.  
Only to be hit in the chest by a sharp kick. While Nick and Chris tried to get a clean shot at the attacker, Oliver and Gail yelled at them to stand down. Inside the compartment was a boy with duct tape over his mouth and around his hands and a scarf around his face. Gail called for a bus while Oliver leaned down and removed the scarf from around the top of the boy's head, revealing a pair of bright green eyes.

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**AN: End Chapter One. Please Review! Also, I may go back and fix Aftershocks since that ending doesn't sit well with me. It just kinda festers...so there's that. Now back to textbooks for a bit!**


	2. Chapter 2

"So, how are these two connected?" asked Frank as he leaned back to sit on his desk.  
"We've been tracking a company called Sytron for a while now. It's a subsidiary of the Dyad Institute and helps them look good while gain more funding. On the surface, it's an outreach program. It sponsors clean water filtration systems and building schools and hospitals in other countries. Beneath that is what looks to be both drug and human trafficking. But they're very specific. They want people with certain types or something else unique. The drugs are specific experimental ones or ones that are usually used for things like neural mapping, according to Dr. Stewart" explained Sam.  
"Why would someone need those in bulk?"  
"We still don't know, but we were tracking what we thought was a courier taking a package to a drop site. From what we can gather, this kid must have seen something and so they decided to take him. I'm guessing the homeless guy saw the abduction and was then taken care of" finished Jo Rosati. She'd been working the case from the 27th and had been brought in to help out.  
"So, where is the boy now?" asked Frank as he rubbed his brow.  
"On the way to the forensics lab" answered Jo.  
"Wait, I thought he was alive?"  
"He is, he is. There was just, ah, a problem when it came to getting him to go to the hospital" answered Sam as he scratched the back of his head.

* * *

Gail backed up and let Oliver gently remove the duct tape from the boy's mouth. Luke carefully placed the tape pieces in bags for the forensics team. Once his hands were free, Oliver escorted him to the back of the squad car to wait for the bus while Gail and the others marked off the scene and kept the emerging crowd of gawkers at bay. Andy and Chloe arrived to help keep things under control. Gail turned at the sound of yelling and rushed back to where the ambulance had arrived.  
"C'mon, kid. We gotta take you to the hospital and make sure you're okay" explained Nick as he tried to coax the boy from the car. Chris had a grip on the door that the boy was trying desperately to pull shut. Oliver motioned for Nick and Chris to let go and the door swung quickly shut. Oliver looked at the boy through the squad car's barrier while Gail opened the other side door. The boy looked to be about twelve years old and his brown hair fell into his eyes. Dressed in a grey long sleeved shirt, jeans, and a old set of converse, he seemed especially small in the backseat.  
"I know going to the hospital doesn't sound like fun bud, but we have to know that you're okay" explained Oliver in his calm Dad voice.  
Gail watched as the boy started to all but vibrate, he was shaking so much.  
"What if we have the paramedics look him over here and then drive him down to the lab to have the forensics collected there? I mean that's what they'd do at the hospital right? They'd get better samples in the lab where they aren't being rushed by doctors and he wouldn't have to go to the hospital" commented Gail as she met the boy's gaze. As she explained her idea, he calmed down.  
"Would that work for a compromise, kiddo?" asked Oliver. At the small nod, Oliver got out to get the medics while Gail stayed close by.

* * *

"Hey".  
At the sound of Gail's voice,Holly looked up see Gail and a boy waiting at the entry way.  
"Hey. Who's this?"  
"This is my new friend. I don't know his name, but we're here so you can take all the forensic stuff you need from him". The boy cocked an eyebrow and gave Gail a look and she shrugged at him.  
"What do I know? Science is her thing, not mine". Holly did her best to hide her grin. They had just finished with his hands when Luke and Nick came in. Nick tossed Gail a bag saying that Traci had dropped off some of Leo's clothes for the kid. Gail set them aside as Luke got ready to start interviewing the kid.  
"Can't this wait until later? I mean the reason we brought him here was so that he wouldn't be overwhelmed" explained Gail.  
"The sooner we do the interview the better, especially with kids" interjected Nick.  
"Thanks Nick, I know procedure! I'm just trying to look out for him. I mean he hasn't said anything since we found him!"  
Holly kept her focus on her work and was currently taking photos of a pair of taser marks she'd found behind the boy's neck. The redness around his mouth from the tape was beginning to fade but the area around his wrists was rubbed raw and an angry red. Gail's phone rang and when she pulled it out she saw it saw Frank. She started to turn away to answer it, she felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked over to see the boy not looking at her but keeping a firm grip on her uniform. "I'll have to call you back sir, Detective Callaghan wants to interview the boy now". Frank's voice came through the phone, "Until his advocate gets here, I want you looking after him, Peck".  
"Yes sir". Gail turned back to see Luke with his notebook ready in front of the kid.  
"Everything okay Peck? Because I think Collins and I have got it from here". If anything the boy's grip tightened as Gail reached out for a nearby stool as she leveled Luke with her best glare. "Well that was Frank. I'm in charge of looking out for him until the Children's Advocate gets here, and you know how long that usually takes". Luke let out a sigh and then turned back to the kid.  
"Name?"  
The boy took a drink from a water bottle Holly had given him before answering "Max Mason".  
"Okay that's good! That's a start. Now where are you from?"  
"Portland". His voice still had a rasp to it, either from screaming or disuse.  
"And how old are you, Max?"  
"Fourteen".  
"Okay, you're doing great Max". Max rolled his eyes and shot Gail a look.  
"Do you know who took you?"  
"If I knew _that_, I would have told you that before _my_ name". Luke sat back and flipped a page in his book. Nick decided to ask a question or two since it was clear Luke was getting frustrated.  
"When we found you in the foot compartment, do you know how or who put you there?"  
"No, but I had it feeling it wasn't him when you guys found me".  
"Yeah? How's that?" asked Nick as he sat across from Max.  
"I kicked him in the chest to get away the first time".  
"But you were in a pickup truck before. So how'd that work?" interjected Luke.  
"Yeah. I was in the utility compartment in the back. It was a bumpy ride. Look, I kicked him in the chest and ran, some homeless guy tried to help me, the guy caught up to me and hit the other guy and stuffed me back in the truck. Then there was lots of screaming and then we were driving again. Then he threw me into the van. And then you guys showed up and I'm guessing I kicked that guy" finished Max, pointing at Luke. Gail noticed that Max had a white knuckled grip on his chair. "I think that's enough for now-".  
"No way Peck. We have more questions" said Luke as he stood up.  
"Gail, you know we have to ask these, even though it's hard. We had to when you were taken". Clearly, that was the wrong thing to say, and Nick realized it about a second after he said it. Gail closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  
"Max hasn't eaten or slept since we found him and hasn't had a moment to himself. You guys go find out what you can. Find his parents-".  
"My Mom. It's just me and my Mom, Cara."  
Gail put her hand on Max's shoulder.  
"So, go tell his Mom he's okay". Nick left and so did Luke, but not before shooting his own glare at Gail.  
"Well" said Holly as she pulled on her jacket, "we clearly need something that comes with fries right about now". Max changed his clothes, leaving the others for evidence, and was pulling on his new shoes. Gail updated Frank and shot Holly a grateful smile and then the three took off for the nearest diner.

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**AN: When I pictured Max I'm thinking Max from the movie Where the Wild Things Are. Kudos if you know his Mom (it just seemed fitting. Like he would be her kid if he'd lived in the series. I could see it).**  
**Please Review! More soon! Until then: Professors- if I'm taking economics do NOT include dates in your history finals. It's mean.**


	3. Chapter 3

Max had inhaled his cheeseburger, fries, and soda and was currently resting on the couch in Holly's office. Children's Services had eventually sent over a social worker to act as Max's advocate, but that had gone bad fast. Luke had asked for a second interview and Dov and Andy had arrived to escort him. Max had seemed to be doing okay when he was meeting the social worker, but the trouble started when they tried to get him to an interview room. He had started to panic as they guided him through 15 Division. It was Chris who had noticed first from his desk where he was working with Chloe. Max had gone pale and his breathing had gotten shallow. Chloe had followed his gaze and by the time they made their way over, Max was shaking and didn't seem to be able to move. All of this happened as officers and detectives walked by focused on their cases and not the boy stuck in the hallway. Chloe had gone to go get Frank while Chris went to see if he could help Dov, who was kneeling in front of Max and trying to help him breathe. Then Callaghan and Rossati came down the hallway asking what was taking so long. The swirling voices and the presence of so many people all at once was too much and Max seemed to crumple on the floor, covering his ears. Frank took one look at the boy and told Dov and Chris to take him outside for some fresh air. Frank then reassigned Andy and Chloe to canvassing and began to deal with both the irate detectives and the social worker.  
Chris and Dov had carried Max out the back where they ran into Oliver and Gail who were coming back from canvassing. Max was standing bent over and gradually taking deeper breaths.  
"C'mon Max, that's it. Deep breaths. In and out" said Dov in what Gail assumed was supposed to be soothing instead of patronizing. Gail rolled her eyes and squatted a few feet away from Max.  
"The kid didn't forget how to breathe Dov. If he could take a deep breath, he would". Gail remembered the panic attacks she'd had and being told how to breathe always made her want to hit her therapist. Max stood up only to let himself fall backwards and sit on the sidewalk next to Gail.  
"So what happened?" asked Oliver around a mouthful of sandwich.  
"The social worker showed up and Luke and Jo wanted to interview him" explained Chris.  
"Ah, an ambush" stated Oliver with a nod, followed by him making a face and pulling a long pickle out of his sandwich. "Don't worry about it Max. Those two, no matter who you are, it would still read ambush".  
Frank came out a few moments later followed by the social worker. "Max, we can do the interview later but until then, I need you to go with Miss Whitlock". Without looking at her Gail felt Max grab her wrist. Gail glanced at him and saw that he was doing his best to hold it together, but the almost painful grip he had on her told her how close he was to falling apart.  
"Actually Sir, before he goes anywhere Oliver, Sam, and I have some stuff we need to discuss with you" interjected Gail, careful to keep her voice even. Frank nodded and asked Chris and Dov to take Max back to forensics, since he'd been the most comfortable there. Only after Gail promised to stop by later, did he let go of her wrist.

* * *

In Frank's office, he got an update from Sam and Oliver. They had come across an old building that looked like it had been used as a holding station. There had been portable medical equipment and supplies to ship medical samples by courier quickly. By the looks of it, at least five children had been held there and moved recently. They had taken samples from the various cells and were comparing them to see if any of them matched Max. If he had been held there, maybe he could shed some light on to what they might be looking for.  
"At this point Frank, our best option is to keep Max under police protection" finished Sam.  
"Clearly, he has grown to trust Peck here and that might work during the day, but at night a male officer would probably be best" thought Frank aloud.  
"Well, fortunately I have a brother. Steve could do night duty, couldn't he? I mean I could probably convince Max that Steve is okay" suggested Gail. Oliver shrugged and nodded, as did Frank who sighed and went out to explain the situation to the social worker.

* * *

After explaining the arrangement to a skeptical Max, Gail and Andy took Max over to talk with Holly in the lab.  
"We called Portland PD and sent officers to tell your Mom that we found you, but she wasn't home and her car was gone. But we'll keep trying to find her" explained Andy. After jumping onto a stool, Max rolled his eyes.  
"Of course she wasn't. She's out looking for me". Gail smirked. She didn't have kids but she knew if their kid was missing Oliver, Traci, and Noelle, would be out looking even in a freaking snowstorm.  
"Okay Max. Do you remember where they drew blood from and if they injected anything?" asked Holly. Max nodded and rolled up his sleeve.  
"They took five vials from my arm here, and injected something in the side of my arm and my neck. Um, they also knew that I had already gotten my flu vaccine, if that helps".  
"Actually, it does...can I see the back of your neck?" Max swiveled, giving Holly a better view. "Did they spray anything in your nose?"  
"Yeah! The guy kinda got mad when it made me sneeze a lot but whatever".  
"I'm going to have to draw some blood to figure out what they injected you with" explained Holly with an expression that clearly said she wished she didn't have to. Max just sighed and rolled up his sleeve. Once that was done, Holly submitted it all to be analyzed. "To see what impact the nose spray had, which was likely filled with some sort of trackers, we'd probably need a brain scan and we'll have to wait till tomorrow on the blood work". With that, Gail, Andy, and Max left to meet Steve at the hospital.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Pardon any rudeness here. Apparently, some are confused about this story. Gail and Holly are the central characters but before we get to the Gail/Holly moments I figured I'd build the story a bit first seeing as how it's a case based mystery. If waiting isn't your thing, go read the other fluffy fics. Don't PM me that you're confused or that you hate the lack of Gail/Holly. The rest of you, thanks for the reviews and follows, it means a lot. Now, if you have questions, by all means ask in a review just please don't be attacking about it. Rudeness done.**

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The hospital had given them a bunch of scans with various areas marked in a different color. Holly had explained that was probably what was in the nose spray, but until they knew what it was marking, it was of little help. Deciding to call it a day, the group grabbed some Chinese takeout and sat in a park near where Steve and Max would be staying. By the end of the meal Max had agreed that Steve seemed okay.  
"What made you decide my sister was okay? I mean, ask anyone and they'll tell you that's a very daring choice" said Steve, earning him a kick in the shin. Max just shrugged around a mouthful of chicken lo mein.  
"The other officers act like I'm either five or an idiot. The detectives get mad that I don't know more. Callaghan almost made it seem like I was lying at times. Sorry the view wasn't great from the storage compartment in the bed of a pick up". Gail and Steve shared a knowing look over Max's head. "Saw that" commented Max.  
"Saw what? You've got your head buried in a container of noodles" said Gail. "Don't worry about Callaghan, he's probably just pissed that you got in such a good shot".  
"Wait, what?" asked Steve.  
"Yeah, when we were getting him out, Max here kicked him in the left shoulder with both legs" confirmed Gail with a nod.  
"Nice" commented Steve, bumping his shoulder against The kid's. A small grin appeared on Max's face.

* * *

Retiring for the night, Gail drove over to Holly's to decompress a little. Flopping down onto the worn sofa, Gail let out a loud sigh. Holly walked over and settled into the space under Gail's head.  
"Max seemed to get attached to you" commented Holly as she ran her fingers through Gail's hair.  
"I know. I don't know why. I like him though". She shifted so she could look directly at Holly. "God, I can't believe it was this morning that we found him. Now we just have to hope that somehow his Mom tracks him here or the police find her". Before leaving for the airport, Beverly had told Holly she'd see if there was anything similar going on state side. So far, it looked like just the abductions were happening in the states and then being transported to Toronto. It all left Holly feeling sick to her stomach. While she really didn't want to find out this had happened to other kids, she was hoping she could find out what was being done and what to look for in case any of it put Max in danger. Gail and Holly went to bed and snuggled, doing their best to push out the unpleasant thoughts of the day.

* * *

It was about ten at night and Dov and Andy followed Jo to what looked to be an auto body shop. A few of the medical containers had been shipped back to this location. Rossati had been adamant that they check it out to make sure it was still used. Things spiraled from there. They had missed seeing someone on watch and were suddenly taking fire. Dov called it in while Andy did her best to cover Jo. Soon Sam and Chris had joined along with Luke and Chloe. When the shots stopped, they had three dead bodies and two men under arrest. Unfortunately, one of the dead bodies belonged to a young boy.

* * *

**AN: Shorter chapter but I'll have more time tomorrow so the next part will be up then or Monday at the latest.**


	5. Chapter 5

To say Frank was mad was an understatement. However, as mad as he was with his rookies, he was absolutely livid with Rossati. The blinds to his office were drawn and the door was shut but it did little to muffle his bellowing. Due to the importance of the case, the review board was doing their best to go through everyone as quickly as possible.  
Andy was sitting at a desk having already filed her report and given her interview as to what happened but something was bothering her. There was something that didn't sit right about the shooting. She had gone over it a million times in her mind, but she couldn't place it and all she was doing was driving herself crazy. She needed someone to talk this over with but Traci was out investigating, having not been involved with the shooting. She spotted Nick over by the coffee pot. He was a bit like Luke when it came to investigations and rules, but that might just be the soldier part in him. Dov was a bit the same way and neither one would want to get anybody else in trouble, so they'd be of little help. Then Andy felt like hitting herself for being so stupid. Who else knew so much about how the police worked. She grabbed her jacket and called Gail to meet her at an out of the way coffee shop.

* * *

Gail was picking at a large cinnamon bun while she waited for McNally. She'd heard, like everybody else, about the shooting at the auto shop. Holly had been called in to do the autopsy. Gail had promised to be there for her in any way she needed her after her shift. She was trying her best at this relationship with Holly and while most things alluded her, she knew her girlfriend would need her after having to autopsy a child. She was jarred out of her thoughts when McNally sat down heavily into the chair across from her.  
"Gail..." Gail waited a minute before she lost her patience.  
"Spit it out McNally!" Andy jumped a bit in her seat before nodding and leaning closer.  
"You trust your brother right? How's his relationship with Luke and Jo?" Gail started to wipe her hands and get up.  
"If you're asking if my brother is dirty, he's not. Now I'm leaving". Andy quickly grabbed Gail's arm as she started to walk past and pulled her back. "_McNally, if you don't leggo I'm going to hit you so hard..._".  
"That's not what I meant! Look, I've got no one else to go to right now! Just hear me out. I just want to know what he thinks of them".  
"How the hell should I know? As far as I know they're detectives but that's it. I mean Steve is Guns and Gangs and Luke and Jo are Homicide so if they talk much it's probably to steal cases from each other. What the hell is going on?" Andy lowered her voice and leaned in as did Gail with a roll of her eyes.  
"I just need to know if he'd be objective, and it sounds like he would".  
"Objective about _what_?"  
"There was something wrong with that shooting".

* * *

Gail had quickly gotten up, yanking Andy along, and driven them to the same park that she'd had dinner with Steve and Max the night before. Steve and Max showed up a few minutes later, Max in a new set of clothes and Steve's hardly ever used ipod in his hands. Steve just shrugged at Andy's raised eyebrow. "I keep my music on my iphone and I gave him the fifty buck gift card Mom gave me. He uploaded his stuff from his account...music, movies, games. Some extra clothes and we were set". Max tucked the ipod in his pocket and took off for the swings. Gail watched as he pumped his legs to go higher. She was sure that any opportunity to be outside and play seemed a little like heaven now. It was a long way from Portland in such a cramped space.

Andy took Gail and Steve through the events of last night. How Rossati took her and Dov in without waiting for backup. Steve initially had seen how Jo might have felt it was their only chance but as Andy went on, the Peck siblings found other troubling questions. For instance, in all the bullets how is it that only a handful wound up towards the cells and one in the gut of the boy. And those bullets had to come from one of ours. Also, the lackeys had done a good job of shooting the computers and making most of them unusable, but some of them were again, ours. Having been there first with Jo and Dov, Andy knew for a fact that there hadn't been anyone near the cells or the computers that she could remember. The guys attacking them had been over by the cars, using them for cover.  
"Hey kid!" called Gail. Max dropped off the monkey bars and ran over to where the others were. "Listen up Max, from now on you make sure to stay with either me, Steve, Oliver, or Andy here. And the only detectives you talk to is Steve or Traci, who you'll meet later. But _that's it_" explained Gail, having grabbed Max firmly by the shoulders.  
"What about Dr. Stewart?" asked Max.  
"_Who?_" Andy had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the absolutely perplexed look on Gail's face.  
"He talking about Holly" explained Andy. Gail shook her head clear. "Yeah, she's okay too of course, but the rest of us can protect you if something happens".  
"What's going on?" asked Max as he sat down across from Gail and Steve.  
"It looks like Detective Rossati might be involved somehow".  
"Gail!" exclaimed Andy. She knew Gail could be blunt but this was a lot for a traumatized kid.  
"What? He should at least know what to watch out for" reasoned Gail.

* * *

Max stuck with Gail and Andy as they made their way to the forensics lab. Steve went to go meet Traci and Oliver for lunch and bring them up to speed. Once they got there, Gail checked in with Holly to see how she was holding up.  
After a much needed hug, Gail asked about the boy that had been brought in. After giving Holly a vague explanation and a promise to tell her more later, Holly told her that the boy had been identified as James Boland. A missing person's report had been filed by his parents back in Portland. Holly had to explain to Frank that a bullet had ripped through the left side of his abdomen and he had bled out so that Frank could explain it to the parents, should they ask. Unfortunately for everyone, they did. They were flying in to claim the body. Most of the time Gail didn't know what to do with people which is why she tried her best to avoid them, especially when they were emotional. But when Holly all but collapsed into Gail's side, her hands automatically went to hold her and rub soothing patterns on her back. After a few deep breaths, Holly collected herself and the two of them walked over to the break room where Max and Andy were still waiting.  
"Hey Max, did you know a James Boland?" asked Gail, earning her alarmed looks from both Holly and Andy.  
"Jimmy? Yeah. He's a year ahead of me in school but sometimes we hangout after school. Why?"  
Gail heaved a sigh and sat down across from Max. It was going to be a long day...

* * *

**AN: I like the idea of Gail being so close to Holly that the name Dr. Stewart just doesn't even register to her. She's just her Holly to her. Possible Dr. Holly but still, Holly. I'm on tumblr under calvinsolo if you want to leave a note or suggestion there. Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Things were not getting any clearer yet. Max and Jimmy had both known each other and had even gone to the same school, but that's where the similarities seemed to end. It had been decided that the best course of action would to ask about Max when the Bolands arrived but keep him as far from them as possible. As far as they were to know, it was simply a similar abduction and a possible connection to their son's case.  
The interview with the distraught parents had gone about as well as could be expected. Their son was an average student, but bright and was also into soccer. Jimmy used to play all the time with his friends (Max included) but since he'd joined the school team, he'd seemed to lose his passion for it. It wasn't the other players, it was the practices and the coaches. Jimmy said it just wasn't fun anymore. The fun had been in the team all deciding their strategy together, the spontaneity and letting everyone play. The school team was too restrictive for it to have any of the fun it use to have for him. Apparently, Jimmy had gone missing a month ago and the parents had been frantically searching ever since.

* * *

Holly was grateful that Jimmy's face had come out of the fire fight unmarred. The rest of he body would be covered by clothes. It was odd, given her job, but morticians still gave her a creepy feeling sometimes, but she was sure they would do an excellent job with the body. It was the face though that mattered to Holly the most, especially when it came to children. It was the face of the child the parents had raised, had tucked in at night, had soothed when they were sick. It was what the parents had to say goodbye to. Pictures weren't the same in her opinion because there were always pictures. If you said goodbye to a picture, your family photo albums keep you from ever truly finding piece and then you have the family and friends you shared photos with. God help you if they forget they have a photo of your son playing with theirs on a bookshelf because you won't be able hold yourself together. And then there are memories, but those get distorted with time.  
Gail had held her, wrapped in the sheets on her bed as she explained all this, listening and letting Holly process in her own way. It had been a while since Holly had been able to do so, not wanting to share with the one night stands and the few other girlfriends she had shared her thoughts with had found it excessively morbid, given her job.  
Gail had just listened without judgement though and held her close. Gail had told her about a small playground that was near her house and how she loved to swing there when she was little. She told her about the "Peck Family rite of passage" and how on the way back to her house, she had stopped and taken a turn on the swing for a bit, trying to pull herself together. She still liked to swing, and until they were hanging out with Max, hadn't thought about how long it had been since she'd been on one.  
That night, Holly was able to sleep without the usual nightmares that came with this kind of a case.

* * *

Oliver was talking to Holly as she went to get Max from the labs break room. Gail waved at them as she took a call on her phone. A call from one of Holly's assistants had them turning back for a few minutes but then they made their way back towards Max.  
Those few minutes though were all it took for Nick to get by with none of them noticing.  
"Kid, I need you to come with me to talk to the detectives" said Nick as he grabbed Max's shoulder to guide him. Max yanked out of his grip and backed up a few steps.  
"No, I don't do cars".  
"You did with Steve" countered Nick, growing tired of the special treatment everyone was giving this kid.  
"Yeah. His car doesn't have that barrier thing that makes me feel trapped, so no". Nick stepped closer and did his best to put on his calm face.  
"Look kid, I get it. Gail and I are close and she was abducted once. But she got through it, and you will too. Now come on". Max looked at Nick's outstretched hand for a moment before backing up another step.  
"Ten bucks says she didn't leave the hospital with you" said Max as he turned towards the soda machine and put in some change. Nick was thrown for a moment. _How could he possibly know that? I doubt Gail told him..._  
"Look..."  
"No, _you_ look. _GAIL_ gets it, not you. Not until you spend some time in the trunk of a car with your hands tied and blindfolded. I can't do the station anyway, it freaks me out" said Max as he picked up his drink from the machine. Nick was done playing nice.  
"Look, I told Callaghan and Rossati I was bringing you so let's go". Nick grabbed at Max's wrist and yanked him forward only to have Max swing and hit him in the crotch with his soda can. Nick fell to his knees but made a last attempt to grab Max, resulting in Max twisting his thumb back. Max then sped out of the room and ran straight into Gail as she came back down the hall. Nick followed a few steps behind, holding his abdomen with one hand and pointing at Max with the other.  
"He's coming with me Gail" gasped Nick.  
"For what?" asked an incredulous Gail as she pushed Max behind her.  
"To talk with Jo and Luke and then be charged with assaulting an officer".  
"He's not going anywhere. They wanna talk to him, then they come here" responded Gail.  
"That's not your call Gail".  
"No, it's mine" interjected Oliver, "as well as Frank's direct orders, so there shouldn't really be any reason for you to take Max anywhere".  
"I'm just trying to follow Rossati's orders, sir" responded Nick as he clenched his jaw. With that Nick turned to leave, but not before he overheard Max and Gail:  
"You're not still dating that asshole are you?"  
"What? No!"  
"Max! Language!" added Oliver.  
"You find me a better word and I'll use it. Till then, I'll stick with that one".

* * *

Oliver and Gail settled back into the break room with Max.  
"Okay, so what happened with Nick?" asked Gail.  
"He came in to take me in for my thousandth interview and I said no- _Oliver don't open that!_" cried Max. Fortunately, Oliver was used to losing soda cans under his car seats when he went to his girls soccer games and had made a habit of always opening the can facing away from him, and right now, pointed towards the sink. As the soda fizzed all over, Oliver set it in the sink and rinsed his hands.  
"And you knew that was going to happen how?" asked Oliver.  
"I used the can to become Officer Collins least favorite person...". Max then told them everything that had happened with Nick. Gail raised an impressed eyebrow but Max just shrugged. "Mom taught me self defense and that anything can be used as a weapon" he finished shyly as Oliver smirked.  
"Well, I was on the phone with Chris who was kind of panicking because he didn't know what to do, but the shooting didn't sit right with him either. So, now he knows to keep you away from Rossati and Callaghan" explained Gail.  
"Do you guys think both of the detectives are in on it?" asked Max.  
"Nah, but Callaghan and Rossati have history, so it'll be harder for us to make him see it" explained Oliver. "Oh, and if you ever want to talk, Gail and I actually _have_ been there, so there's that". Max glanced at Gail who leaned back and nodded. "We'll have to get donuts first though".

It seemed that sides were being picked in 15.

* * *

**AN: This chapter is kind of a filler and establishes a few things for later. Cara Mason would totally teach her kid self defense and Jimmy Boland was my favorite on Falling Skies. Please review!**


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